PREY (Hulu), sponsored by the ghost of Morton Downey, Jr

We're getting a new Predator film and it appears that it'll be exclusively on Hulu.

Teaser just dropped:



It's a really effective teaser, to be sure. But considering the series' track record, I'm not optimistic.

Could be good.

I appreciate that they're finally following-up on the implied "Predators have been visiting Earth for a long time" thing from PREDATOR 2.

Wait, is this an adaptation of the video game Prey, which was about...aliens hunting native Americans?

I'm in.

I'll check it out when it drops since it's a different take on the Predator formula. Sadly I don't think we'll ever see a movie that rivals the first two films.

I want it to succeed so we can get an entire series of Predator vs [INSERT ANCIENT CULTURE] here. Like, 'oh dang, what if Grendel was a Predator?'

That would be the perfect concept for an anthology show.

Fett, you glorious bastard. I hear they're just hiring people off the street to show-run! It can happen!

I loved 10 Cloverfield Lane so I'm cautiously optimistic. Besides, it'll give me a reason to actually use my Hulu account.

This stripping things down and going back to the basics with the franchise is what it needs, as opposed to the various attempts at extended lore building that we've been handed by Predators, The Predator, and the AVP films. Those movies have their moments (some WAY more than others), but at the end of the day they miss a key ingredient that the first two had in spades: subgenre deconstruction.

The original film is a "men-on-a-mission" movie. Pull the titular beast out and you still have a men-on-a-mission movie with its own set of obstacles for the characters. Ditto for the second film, which is an archetypal "cop on the edge" flick in a city besieged by drug wars. Pull the Predator out and you still have cartel hordes to contend with (especially since he's not there killing them).

Whereas with the four films that followed, if you yank the Predators out of them, their stories cannot function.

This one looks to be a coming-of-age period piece set within a warrior culture. That alone should give it some depth and adding a Predator into the mix is icing on the cake. Doubly so, considering that it involves Native Americans and the Predator(s) could be a stand-in for the murderous settlers that will soon encroach upon their lands. Trachtenberg is a smart filmmaker, so I guarantee that none of this is lost on him.

I don't know if it'll be better than 1&2, but I have a strong feeling that it will at least surpass the rest. And that's good enough for me.

Sidenote: I've seen some people lamenting that this is a direct-to-streaming release. On the one hand, I totally get that. I would love to see this on the big screen too, but the simple fact is that the last three films featuring these suckers have either underperformed or outright bombed. It's honestly a miracle that we're even getting a new one at all.

Doc Happenin wrote:

I want it to succeed so we can get an entire series of Predator vs [INSERT ANCIENT CULTURE] here. Like, 'oh dang, what if Grendel was a Predator?'

doc, you've probably seen it. But Outlander (low budget mid-2000s film, not the TV show) sort of explored that. It was also a pretty great genre film.

Outlander is fun! Not great, but a solid choice for a Saturday or Sunday afternoon matinee kind of thing.

Honestly can't believe the director of Outlander hasn't made another full length film after all this time. It's a great little movie!

On Hulu, eh? How the mighty have fallen.

There are new Hellraiser and Alien movies earmarked for Hulu as well over the next year or so.

Way of the future!

Full trailer has dropped:



I'm intrigued but not overly hopeful; the franchise has about 1.5 (2 if I'm feeling generous) good entries, and nothing worth talking about since 1990 or so.

I really wish they'd had the Native Americans speaking in their own language, but I get why they didn't.

ETA: Apparently, they're making a version with Comanche dub available. Good, I guess? I just really hate dubs.

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/prey-to-premiere-with-comanche-language-dub-marking-first-movie-ever/

Supposedly the cast will be dubbing themselves, so there's that at least.